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Hi I'm Jim

I'm from Idaho, i hunt, hike, read, play music and i'm a Mormon

About Me

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I'm a student at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I love music, both listening and playing. I play guitar, mandolin, and banjo. I'm studying Business and English. I served a mission in Southern California. I like doing most things given i have friends to do it with. I love to read and water ski and snow snowboard, and just about everything. Oh... and I'm single. :)

Why I am a Mormon

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This life was designed to be hard to do on your own. The experiences that i have had aren't much different from anyone else's. What changed was my perspective as i experimented with putting my trust in God. As i stopped looking for reasons it couldn't be true, i started seeing the blunt reality of God's hands in our lives.
The meaningful experiences only come after we are willing to acknowledge God's existence and power. These experiences -and they were all trials of faith- only resulted because i was willing to put forth effort on my part. Effort shows investment, and God always blesses us with returns on our investment in him.
Opening emotionally to God was a harder for me than physically doing good, but the relationship i gained has been priceless. This is probably the most important part of my testimony. Being open with God through prayer leads you to know him better and love him.
I am a Mormon because I see in our doctrine a distinct difference in the perspective it shows. Many religions have bias towards extremes: ritualism and tradition vs. informal and unstructured or salvation by faith vs. through works or sola scriptura vs. clerical authority. What i see in the doctrine of the church is balance between these principles., even when it seems they cannot be balanced. That speaks to me of God's work.

How I live my faith

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As a missionary, I lived my faith by sharing it with others.Since coming home, it's been harder to find opportunities to share it. I serve in my congregation and do what i can for the people in it. Occasionally i get to teach in church, which is always fun.
Living your faith is as much a personal quest as it is public. I feel like i live my faith as I stretch myself to be more like the savior, which can be depressing at times because the more you become like the savior, the more you see his infinite attributes. Trying to emulate him can be a rough task. I have a tendency to be negative and treat people with sarcasm. My real test is to overcome those things which tear down and focus on that which builds up.

Why do Mormon missionaries proselyte?

Jim

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MIssionaries like me proselyte because we have a firm testimony of the truth, which is that God wants all his children to return to him and our privilege is that of sharing how we can. Nothing changes lives like the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no better work i could be doing than to give of myself, my time, and my desires to helping others. Please, always talk to the missionaries, they are real people with real life experiences, and their motivation is to help you.
You might ask why Mormon Missionaries would try to convert those who already believe in Jesus Christ. The reason is because we believe we have the full gospel. It includes church organization and priesthood authority, unity in our beliefs and pure religion (which is to care for the needy). We don't mean to destroy the faith you already have, but to help you better understand Jesus Christ, his purpose and how he works with men in these times as well as times of old.Show moreShow less

What do Mormons believe concerning the doctrine of grace?

Jim

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We are saved by Grace. The Atonement is a free gift to all of us. In order to claim that grace we must reach out ourselves and take hold of Christ's saving influence. All of us are in a hole, Christ freely provides the ladder to climb out. We do so in the way that Christ has specified, Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring till the End. We cannot be saved by our words, only by following the example that Jesus Christ set. We accept him by making a covenant, or 2 way promise, at baptism. This covenant is only valid if the baptism is performed by one who God has authorized to stand in his place and make that promise. Then, we cannot fall back. Paul says in Romans 6 that we must die as to carnal things and live as to spiritual things. We will not be saved in our sins, but from our sins.Show moreShow less

Why are only some Mormons allowed into temples? Is there something secret going on in Mormon Temples? What goes on in Mormon Temples?

Jim

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Only People who are living their lives within God's laws are allowed into the temple. Just how only those who accept Christ as their Savior in this life or the next will be able to return to heavenly father. Only those who obey the commandments are given the blessings promised. Temples are sacred only because they are set apart from the worldly things that bind us down.
The blessings we recieve in temples are knowledge, protection and the promise of eternal families. Without the authority from god, what is sealed on earth will not be sealed in heaven. God's authority to seal families in marriage for all time is so special to us that we keep it separated from anything that would lessen its value. Temples are the perfect place for that authority to be used.Show moreShow less

What do Mormons believe about the nature of God?

Jim

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God is our Father and loves us as any good parent loves their children. He has a body that is perfect and wants us to be able to enjoy that same blessing. We believe that he is the Almighty and that he rules over all. In comparison to his great creations we may seem small, but we mean everything to him. He is a perfect parent, always mindful of us and our situations.
Our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost work together as one, but they are separate, distinct beings. Each shares in common their love for us and and a desire to help us become more like them. While Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have perfect bodies, the Holy Ghost is a spirit, which allows him to communicate with our spirits and truly convert us.Show moreShow less

Who founded Mormonism and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Jim

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God did. Since the beginning, God has taught his children what they needed to do to be happy in this life and return to him in the next. There have been times where the world has changed or rejected the truth, but god has always brought it back. After the death of the apostles, the truth was lost again. In 1820, God decided to bring his truth back to the earth. He did that through a prophet named Joseph Smith, who was the first Presdent of the LDS church. God revealed to Joseph Smith most of what the church believes today and how he was to organize it. The truth has been here from the beginning. The organization is the same as Christ's original church. God is the founder of the church and it's teachings. Joseph Smith was the medium he used to bring it forth.Show moreShow less

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